O’Maddi’s Owner Arrested for Assault

Shaun SweetShaun Sweet was arrested last week for allegedly attacking his wife, Kaylan, at their restaurant, O'Maddi's on Depot Square.Shaun Sweet, 37, pleaded not guilty in Chittenden County criminal court in Burlington to a felony count of first-degree aggravated assault with a weapon and a misdemeanor count of criminal threatening. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison. Court records show that he was released on a $1,000 unsecured appearance bond.According to local police, he was arraigned in Chittenden County because the defendant was taken there where he could be held until his arraignment. The case was since been transferred to the Superior Court in Barre.Officer Karie Tucker, of the Northfield Police Department filed an affidavit with the court that a call had come into police on Saturday morning, January 27 from a “woman” saying Sweet had threatened to kill her and tried to hit her. The report does not state the name of the victim nor that she was the defendant's wife. The News was able to verify that the wife was the victim of defendant, Sweet's alleged attack.The report states that Officer Tucker spoke to an unnamed witness who reported that the defendant had come to O’Maddi’s Deli & Cafe on Depot Square and found the woman talking on the phone. The witness told Tucker that Sweet followed the woman around asking her who she was talking to. The witness told the officer that the pair then started arguing.Tucker said the witness reported the woman tried to get away from the defendant when he “charged” at her with his elbow up like he was going to hit her. The witness also stated that the defendant reportedly stated that he would kill the woman.Tucker said she then spoke to the woman who told the officer that she was scared for her life.Tucker said she’s known Sweet and the woman for a few years. She said the day before this incident she saw Sweet at the deli and noted in her report that he had been behaving oddly.“He was extremely happy, but it seemed forced or fake. I had never seen him act like this. He seemed overly excitable and belligerent,” the officer said in her affidavit.The officer stated that the defendant was talking loudly about dating and having sex with other women so that the victim could hear him. Tucker said he also brought up the fact that he owns four guns.The victim told the officer that the defendant had come into the deli on Saturday, that the two got into an argument, that the defendant pinned the victim against the stove and it looked like he was going to spit in her face. The victim told the officer, according to the report, that Sweet then picked up a knife and came at her, but then decided to put it down. She said he raised his fist like he was going to hit her a couple of time but never did according to the affidavit.The woman told Tucker she tried to get away from Sweet and he told her he hated her and was going to kill her.The officer then spoke to the defendant and he denied grabbing the knife and using it in a threatening way. She said he did admit to getting really close to the woman’s face and making it seem like he was going to spit on her, but he didn’t.Records of the Vermont Secretary of State show that O'Maddi's restaurant is owned by a corporation and that Shaun Sweet is president and his wife Kaylan is secretary of that entity.